"track your measurements."

emdeesea

I have a question on this because I've heard this often and don't quite understand. This is a recommendation on the page where you track your weight.

So say someone is in the process of leaning out and eat at a deficit, but also lifts weights on a regular basis to maintain as much muscle as possible. And say they're not seeing any progress on the scale. I hear they get told to do measurements because you may be smaller and just not seeing it on the scale.

I'm trying to think this through logically. If you're eating at a deficit, you're not gaining muscle. And if the scale is not moving, your weight hasn't changed - not losing fat.

So what is the logical answer? The only ones I can come up with is: your measurements are off or you've actually lost muscle? Neither of which are good, right? Or is there a piece I'm missing?

distinctlybeautiful

I lost seventeen pounds of fat and gained almost five pounds of muscle in the last year. It's possible.

I'm not sure exactly why, but it also seems relevant to tell you that at 143 pounds now (and even six months ago at 150 pounds), I'm smaller than I was three years ago when I got down to about 135 pounds by restricting and cardio alone.

jemhh

There's no truth to the black and white statement that "you can't build muscle in a deficit." It may be slower than building muscle eating at/over maintenance but it is possible. This talks about it some:

http://shreddedbyscience.com/can-you-gain-weight-in-a-calorie-deficit/

capaul42

All the above, plus, sometimes the scale will reflect "unreal" numbers. Like if you show a 4lb gain but it's not really a gain, it's because you're retaining water. Your measurements would be more accurate. Your weight fluctuates so much in a day that sometimes the number you see may be a variety of factors and not actual weight. Which is why people tell you to take periodic measurements. I do mine every 3 weeks.

blues4miles

I can't tell exactly what you are asking...

But I'll say measurements can be as inaccurate as anything else, hard to measure in the same place each time. That's why spacing them out and not taking them too seriously can help. But there are also places where you are going to measure where even if you are in some miracle of losing fat and gaining muscle, those measurements should still get smaller. Maybe biceps could puff up from water retention OR hypothetical muscle gain, but say your chest at the band of your bra shouldn't really get bigger if you are a lady.

Also think you shouldn't expect to lose scale weight and inches at the same time. I tend to lose scale weight first, then the inches follow. I suspect other people might be the other way around. But let's say I lost 10 lbs, then I'm at a plateau. If I didn't lose any inches while losing the weight, but start to lose inches NOW, it can be motivating even though the scale is at a plateau.